In view of the shortage of lumber and the fact that as time goes on lumber will become even more scarce, it will not be possible, without paying very substantial increases in the price of lumber, to make available the substantial number of studs that will be required for the anticipated increases in number of shelter building programs now being undertaken in the United States.
(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a metal stud, a support structure or the like, that can be operably connected to wood framing members or plates to construct walls, which are in turn incorporated into a building, such as a house. The support structure of this invention, e.g., a metal channel member or stud, is adapted to be connected with wood plates, which are positioned along the floor and along the ceiling. The support members and plates are joined by a number of connections which will enable an operator to select in his opinion a strong and sturdy connection between the metal stud and wood plates.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It has been common practice for many years to separate the various rooms in the house (or other buildings) by partition walls which are rigid and strong and provide a substantial separation between the rooms so that the rooms are sound proofed from each as much as possible. This requires a substantial amount of lumber. However, the supply of lumber is getting scare. As a result, the cost of building a house or other building of wood has increased during recent years, particularly if the house is formed entirely of lumber.
Wood has its shortcomings. Wood can warp and go out of shape when it becomes wet. Vermin of various kind can eat away at wood. Despite these shortcomings, wood had been preferred for home construction despite the fact that wood is more expensive by about 30% as of now over the cost of building a house using part metal. The manufacturing techniques for building with metal are increasing rapidly and these new techniques tip the scales more and more to the building of homes of metal, or wherein a large portion of the home is built of metal.